Why Recycling Copper Makes Good Sense

Copper is one of the most useful metals in modern society and is one of the oldest metals – it has been in circulation for centuries. Although only around 30% of the known source of copper in the Earth’s crust has been extracted to date, recycling copper makes sound economic sense and there are many other benefits too.

Why is Copper so Useful?

Copper was one of humanity’s first metals to be discovered and used in large amounts. The physical properties of copper make it so useful. It is an attractive metal when clean or polished, with a pink or peach colored appearance. It is a very good conductor of heat and electricity, which early on made it a good material for pots and pans. In fact large metal pots or boilers were called “coppers” simply because of what they were made from. Copper is malleable, so is easily molded into shape and does not corrode easily, so it lasts much longer than other metals like iron and steel.

Electrical conductivity

Copper’s excellent electrical conductivity make it the most important metal for electrical wiring and millions of miles of copper wire are used every year in homes, offices and factories, let alone thousands of different appliances from TVs to computers. All of this copper can be recovered and recycled once the lifetime of the item is over.

Brass and bronze are copper alloys

Copper is mixed with other metals to make useful alloys like brass and bronze. These alloys are tougher and stronger than pure copper and are used where ferrous materials might corrode too easily. Brass and bronze are used not only in fastenings like screws and bolts but they are used wherever the appearance of the pure metal is important. Both alloys are easily maintained and produce an attractive yellowish to darker brown shiny appearance which can be used to great effect on a wide variety of items from door knockers and handles to bells and musical instruments. Next time you hear a brass band playing, you might be listening to something that has been made of recycled copper!

The value of recycling copper

Copper goods of any type can be recycled. Generally, the purer the used item, the more valuable the copper and the higher the price if you take it to a scrap metal yard. There are many household and industrial items that are regularly recycled and this industry has numerous environmental benefits as well as providing a source of income to the scrap metal dealers themselves.

Recycling copper means that less copper ore needs to be mined. This cuts down on a lot of environmental damage that might be done by the mining process, which can be quite polluting. In some rivers, for instance, which are downstream from a large copper mining operation there have been long term consequences to the aquatic life because copper ore released from waste into the rivers can be toxic.

Recycling copper reduces the amount of energy needed to extract pure copper from its ore as well as reducing the use of other substances used in the extraction and carbon emissions that are ultimately harmful to the global atmosphere.

Get paid for scrap copper and help the environment too

Whenever you take your old, scrap copper, brass or bronze items down to a scrap metal recycling depot like dilleroadrecycling you are gaining form the cash you get for your scrap as well as helping the environment.